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Landsec ties up with Aardman on portfolio wide partnership

Landsec has announced an exclusive partnership with Aardman and STUDIOCANAL to bring EARLY MAN, the new stop-motion animated film from Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park, to life across its portfolio of retail and leisure destinations.

To coincide with the release of the prehistoric comedy adventure film, in cinemas now, an augmented reality trail launches at two Landsec locations, Bluewater in Kent and Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow, allowing visitors to meet characters from the film and download exclusive content via a specially designed Aardman App.

Elsewhere, during the February half term, Landsec’s White Rose, Trinity Leeds and newly opened Westgate Oxford will give guests a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the film with master model making workshops, where participants will sculpt clay replicas of Hognob, the faithful sidekick to plucky caveman Dug.

The exclusive partnership with Aardman is the first AR trail to be deployed across Landsec’s portfolio and "demonstrates its commitment to creating memorable experiences through innovation".

The developer said it was the first in the UK to commit to free wi-fi in its centres, the first to introduce Google product search and the first to trial Amazon lockers. Last year, its most digitally enabled destination, Trinity Leeds, launched ‘Tick Tock Unlock’, an immersive virtual reality escape game.

Ailish Christian-West, Head of Shopping Centres for Landsec said: “We’re excited to bring Early Man to life across our portfolio by creating memorable days out for our visitors. We work hard to deliver unique experiences at each of our destinations, striving to make sure they remain relevant to today’s consumer, and our work with Aardman is a great example of this approach. Providing more ways for people to enjoy spending time at our destinations, we create places that are distinctively Landsec.”

Sean Clarke, Head of Aardman Rights and Brand Development, said: “Destinations like Bluewater, Buchanan Galleries and Westgate Oxford provide great opportunities for us to bring our creations to life off-screen to engage more families in the wonder of stop-frame animation. We can’t wait to see how the public react to meeting their favourite characters during the AR trail on their trip to the shops!”